Well that's a lousy rule. Charts and diagrams are helpful in explaining things. The politicos (including Bush) who created these debate rules obviously want to keep Americans dummied down.
We should have Lincoln-Douglass style debates, wherein each candidate can alternate speaking for up to a half hour, walking around the stage, using notes. And we should have these debates once a week for several months on end. That would force all candidates to show us who they are.
But that's not what these anal-retentive politicos -- including Bush -- want.
Yet another reason to vote third party.
yeah, yeah, yeah....third party? rolls eyes.....sheesh....
The purpose of the "debates" is to show how candidates can do without such aids. While it puts excessive attention on certain candidate attributes that are in reality not all that important, there is some merit to seeing candidates on their own without aids or aides to help them.
If someone brings a crib-sheet to an SAT, they will be forbidden from taking the test at that time, and perhaps in future as well. Although the SAT testing facilities provide ample blank paper for people who wish to work out problems, I would expect that someone caught bringing in a blank sheet of paper would likely face sanctions just as surely as someone bringing a crib sheet (to ensure that people don't scheme to "test the system").
It seems very clear that Kerry broke the rules, and very likely that he broke the rules with deliberate intent (i.e. cheated).
I believe charts were materials that could be given to the folks ahead of time...they just could not bring them in at debate time.